Who Heals All our Diseases

@rickblumenberg

Psalm 103 is a marvelous psalm filled with truth and encouragement. One of my favorite truths is where the psalmist wrote that God “heals all your diseases”. Sometimes we think this applies only to God’s direct healing touch, like Jesus did when here in the flesh. Some Christians think that doesn’t even happen anymore and others think it still happens a great deal. Regardless, I think it means much more than divine physical healing.

For instance, God heals many of our diseases as built-in miracles of creation because He made the human body with an amazing ability to heal itself. Being a “do-it-yourselfer”, I often have injuries—usually minor; a smashed thumb, a small cut or abrasion. But the wonderful thing is those injuries usually heal all by themselves. Our God-given bodies are nothing short of amazing in this area of self-healing!

Our brains are also fantastic healing machines. For instance, even though my cuts and bruises will usually heal by themselves, I have learned through experience and teaching—information my brain has stored and recovers as needed—that cleaning the wound, keeping it clean and adding an antiseptic will greatly enhance the healing process and usually prevent infection.

In addition, if we use our brains properly to have wholesome thoughts, to think positively, but realistically, and use the wisdom gained from parents and other teachers, together with experience we gain over time, we learn how to help our bodies stay well or heal themselves when attacked by a virus, disease, or germ. This too, is all a part of how God heals all our diseases.

And speaking of germs and such, one of the greatest organs of all living things is the miracle of skin! It shields us from germs, and other such critters that would harm, while being always available to transfer the healing warmth of a loved one or friend just by a gentle, caring touch—one of the greatest healers!

We also find healing in the wholesome food we put into our bodies. Some things taste good but are not really good for us. Some preservatives in our food enhance flavor and cause us to want more, but for some people these preservatives are toxic and perhaps not good for any of us. We are more perceptive these days about the dangers of polluting our world (air, streams, soil, etc.) but there is also great danger to our bodies when we pollute them with the wrong food.

If we learn to eat the right foods and reject the wrong ones we experience preventive healing so we avoid many diseases. Our bodies are stronger and healthier when fed properly and this helps our God-given immune system work more effectively night and day, to protect us from injury or disease and bring healing when needed.

I don’t believe God meant for Jesus to stay here forever as our super doctor. He mean for us to be independent of him to live healthy lives and learn helpful medical skills so we can be healed routinely rather than only by God’s divine touch. Like parents with their children Jesus came to make us strong, independent people who can live our own. However, although we want our children to be free and independent, we never want to lose the loving relationships we have as family. In the same way, although God wants us to live free and independent lives, God never wants us to lose the loving relationship we have in the family of God.

God also gives some persons a “gift” of healing for the benefit of self and others. Some are ordinary people with gifts of healing and some are medical professionals who have honed that gift with education, training and experience so they can treat us, nurse us and sometimes operate on us, doing all sorts of amazing things that bring wholesomeness and health. These wonderful people are very much a part of God’s healing love and their work is a special part of God’s divine plan. Every medical professional works with God whether or not they are believers because God is the ultimate Healer. No doubt that explains why many of our best hospitals were started by and owned by religious groups as a way to do God’s work.

So when you read Psalm 103, especially the words “who heals all your diseases” say a prayer of thanksgiving for all the ways God heals and for all the people doing God’s miraculous healing work. 

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s 
My View from Tanner Creek.

      

One Billion Worship Every Weekend!

@rickblumenberg

“I got to hear Valarie Peery sing "Take My Hand Precious Lord" while accompanying herself on the piano this morning at church. I was beside myself. Not many things I enjoy more than hearing Valarie sing and play!”

These words were written after my cousin Valarie Peery sang and played piano recently at First Baptist Church, in Clinton, Kentucky.

Here is my comment about a service I attended here in Southwest Michigan on the same day:

“That really was a marvelous worship service and the sermon was equal to it—one of the best services ever. Pastors David Colp and Chad Harlan were both marvelous and it was obvious the Holy Spirit was leading it all—and what an awesome choir to sing in.”

This past Sunday we joined our daughter Kathy, her husband Mike, and their family at Tabor Church near Muncie, Indiana for a great worship service.

The amazing thing is not really these three marvelous worship experiences scattered over five hundred miles, but that on any given weekend there are probably a billion people who worship God in churches throughout all our communities and around the world. They worship in a multitude of languages, in every skin color, all economic and educational levels, and by people of just about every conceivable variety.

More than two billion people scattered over the earth profess to be Christians and I’m guessing maybe half attend church on any given Sunday. This makes a wonderful unity in the Holy Spirit, as we lift up the Lord Jesus that binds all these believers together in worship to God.

Sometimes people criticize the church and talk about “how bad things are” but things are wonderful in God’s church! And will continue to get better as more and more people are born into the family of God and give him first place in our lives. When I say God’s church I don’t refer to a denomination, but to the entire family of God scattered around planet earth. We don’t all agree theologically, we’re not all at the same level of understanding or spiritual maturity but we all worship God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—so we are all family.

In the combined worship sites of both my Mom and Dad’s families and both of my wife’s parents’ families you find worshippers in all kinds of churches from Pentecostal to Catholic and everything in between, so we love all kinds of churches! They all help those we love to live better both here and in eternity.

Whatever the name is over the door, it is God’s house and these are all God’s children and when we worship, in a very real sense we all worship together. Quite often in a Sunday morning worship service I become aware of the multitude of saints I “worship with” on a given weekend. I’m guessing that to God it’s just one glorious worship service with all his children on the planet. We pour out our worship and he pours out his love, instruction, admonition and guidance.

Often as I pray I follow St. Paul’s encouragement in Ephesians 6:18 to “always keep on praying for all the saints”. God knows when I pray I leave it up to him as to who are the saints. I never try to tell him. Jesus said, “Other sheep have I which are not of this fold” so God may have some saints out there that will catch me by surprise when I see them in heaven, but I won’t mind at all. Jesus came to save us all and I’m firmly convinced some people who do not look like saints down here will be with us up there, and dressed in the white robe of His righteousness.

I like Bill Gaither’s way of saying it…”I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God!”

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

   

Thank God for Kayla Mueller!

@rickblumenberg

I thank God for Kayla Mueller. The newscasts of today are reporting her death at the hands of the ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria. She was taken captive while trying to help the refugees in Syria near the border with Turkey.  

In the last letter to her parents, smuggled out of her prison by her cellmates, Kayla wrote, 

“I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator because literally there was no else….plus, by God, plus by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.”

I know very little about Kayla and had never heard of her until she was kidnapped, and then only after a lengthy time, her parents began to speak out and her captivity became known.

But from news reports I know she went to Syria to help hurting people. Much like my friends in Lebanon are doing among their Syrian refugees as well as similar work other godly people are doing in Turkey. These are God’s good people who are risking their lives to help people who are, for the most part, not even the same religion they are, and to whom they are not related and have no kinship with other than the fact they are fellow human beings who are in a horrible hurting situation.

But that was enough for Kayla and for many others who just want to show the love of Christ with their actions and attitudes. Taking blankets, food, encouragement and care.

Sadly, not all Christians are behaving that way. I read recently where a person who professed to be a Christian was rejoicing because they somehow had knowledge that “Muslims” would for sure go to hell. I don’t know how they know this for sure. I know the Lord Jesus Christ died to make it possible for them to be in heaven. The Lord God is still working toward that goal for all mankind and our job as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is to help him do it.

I have seen too much hatred poured out on our “enemies” in ISIS and elsewhere by those who claim to be Christians. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to love our enemies and do good to those who despise us. 

Kayla did that.

Now understand, I am not a pacifist—at least not to the extent some of my good friends are.

In the same way we need good people in local, state and national police forces to protect our communities from cruel, evil, and ungodly people, I believe we also need a strong military to protect innocent people from ISIS and others like them who do evil things. I thank God for those who put their lives on the line to protect and preserve our peace and the peace of the world.

But tonight I’m thinking about the Kayla’s of the world through whom God is showing the world what the followers of Christ are all about. We’re not about war except in a very last resort. We are here to make the world better by being godly people who let the love of Christ flow through us and impact those around us. Sometimes it has to be tough love as we see by good people in the military or police forces, but at other times God needs people like Kayla who are tough enough to take the love of God into the most difficult situations.

In her twenty-five years Kayla may have done more for the cause of Christ than most of us do in our normal four score and ten years. Kayla died as a martyr but long ago someone said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

So would you join me in praying for Kayla’s captors? Pray God will touch the hearts of those who persecuted Kayla and her family and friends when they took her life? But let’s also pray God will help us all to be more like Jesus around the people who know us. Pray the people around us will see Jesus in us. I have no doubt Kayla’s captors saw the love of God shining out of her life and I pray God’s Spirit will not let them forget what they saw. I know God will continue to use those memories to draw people to his amazing love.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.